Wednesday, October 31, 2012

An Outstanding October.

September saw the release of Incognito: The Classified Edition, but not much else, as Fatale slipped its schedule a little bit.

On the subject of Incognito, fans -- and those who haven't yet read the book -- should check out a few
links marking the occasion of the hardcover release, all from the website for the crime and suspense
imprint Mulholland Books: Joe Hill's essay on "Under The Influences," originally published with the second trade paperback; a brief exclusive interview with Ed Brubaker; and a five-page preview of the hardcover collection.

October was a better month for Brubaker and Phillips, and it ends with the latest issue of Fatale going on-sale today -- appropriately enough, on Halloween. It's the second issue out this month, and Comic Book Resources has a five-page preview for issue #8, out October 3rd, and now a six-page preview for issue #9.

These last two issues have really ramped up my enjoyment of the series, and those who have found the story to be less immediately engaging than Criminal should stick with the book. This second release in this month with five Wednesday's also allows the series to make up some lost ground: the second arc concludes with issue #10, and this issue must be out in November to meet the schedule set in the December solicitations, where the second trade and the first stand-alone issue are out before Christmas.

Alongside Fatale #8, the second oversized hardcover collection for Criminal was released on October 3rd. Criminal: The Deluxe Edition Volume 2 completes the deluxe treatment for Brubaker and Phillips' creator-owned output for Marvel's Icon imprint.

On his blog, Sean Phillips reminds us that the Marvel Zomnibus was evidently released that same week. I couldn't find as much official
information on the book as I would like, but it appears to be a massive,
1200-page hardcover collecting most/all of the Marvel Zombies saga,
including Phillips' work early on in the series.

And I would be remiss not to note that the finale to Ed Brubaker's eight-year run on Captain America also came out, as did the third hardcover collection of his "Cap" saga.

Starting at the end of September and running through this month, John Suintres' Word Balloon podcast has featured a massive, MASSIVE "marathon interview" with Ed Brubaker, five or six hours of conversation spread across the first half of four separate audio files. The final segment was released just last week.

In Part One, the pair covers Fatale and creator-owned comics. In Part Two, they discuss Brubaker's move from DC to Marvel. In Part Three, they discuss his work on superhero titles including Catwoman, Captain America, and Winter Soldier. And in Part Four of what was originally planned to be a three-part series, they discuss the finales on his Marvel titles and the two pilots he wrote for the broadcast television networks.

In the backmatter of today's issue, Brubaker assures readers that his television work doesn't threaten his career in comics: "This actually allows me more time to devote to comics like Fatale and a secret project I'll be announcing early next year."

Next month, we have the hardcover collection for Scene of the Crime: I just noticed that the book is being published through Image, as it's listed in their November solicitations. Brubaker writes that the creators were finally able to secure all the rights to the book that was originally published through DC's Vertigo imprint. And in January we'll see the publication of Winter Soldier #14, Brubaker's last issue for the Marvel universe, for the foreseeable future. Brubaker's transition to purely creator-owned work through more independent publishers is almost complete.

For now, I've thoroughly enjoyed having two issues of Fatale this month, and a reader could get used to two truly independent comic books from Brubaker each month.